


Rise from the Ashes (Naruhodou version)

by Izzu



Category: Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2008-09-26
Updated: 2008-10-07
Packaged: 2017-11-08 02:33:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/438179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Izzu/pseuds/Izzu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post GS4. After the conclusion of the Ese Makoto’s case as well as the success of the first trial case for the Jurist System, young Odoroki was left to wonder what was to become of one former Ace Attorney.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Turnabout Fate

**Author's Note:**

> I've written two versions of this piece, based on the Original Gyakuten Saiban and the localized version. While both plots would be inherently similar, some slight details of each versions would differ slightly as GS version would have more reference on the Japanese culture.

Odoroki Housuke was frustrated. It has been three weeks since that fateful case, yet nothing much has changed. He thought after that case, something big would start to happen around this place. Or so he hoped. That day after the case, Naruhodou-san had said that perhaps he would try retaking the Bar Exam to become an attorney again. That one statement of his had made him happy; because after all, Naruhodou Ryuuichi had been his idol all this time. For the legendary attorney to return into the courts is something like a dream come true. He, of all people; would never let such chances to slip past his fingers! He wanted to learn more of Naruhodou-san’s skills and knowledge as a defense attorney. Reading up on his old cases just will not do, he needed to see him in action by his own eyes!

That one statement had spurred back his hopes of seeing the legendary Naruhodou Ryuuichi back in action. It raised his hopes so high, he could have gone singing aloud using his Chords of Steel!

But alas, after three weeks waiting in anticipation... the only thing that Odoroki had observed happening around the agency, was for Naruhodou-san to start taking a proper piano lesson and actually made some progress on his piano playing. Well, err... sort of. So far, Naruhodou-san had only managed to play some simple songs smoothly. He still could not manage to play a lot of the harder tunes aside from some children songs. But Minuki-chan seemed happy about that. Well, at least _someone_ was happy.

Still, he could not help to feel a tad bit disappointed. He had wanted so much to learn even more from Naruhodou-san. He had thought about it really. If Naruhodou-san becomes an attorney again, he would be able to see how he does his... err, defending job. And then he would try observe the way he handled a case and learn from it. At least that should be easier for him to pick up rather than having to figure out the meaning of Naruhodou-san’s encrypted clues. Naruhodou-san's past cases reports did not satisfy his curiosity for knowledge enough, despite how concise and detailed his reports were. He had never wrote in detail on what did his Magatama really do or how did he had collected his information and other stuffs like that. Not to mention why most of his cases had involved a certain Ayasato clan...

Also, Naruhodou-san was not one to write his thoughts in his reports as well.

“Aaaaaah! It was so FRUSTRATING!”

“What’s so frustrating to you... Odoroki-kun? Is there any problem assaulting our dear young attorney now?”

Odoroki jumped as he looked up just to find Naruhodou Ryuuichi staring down at him in amusement.

“Ah!”

The older man eyed him again in concern. Minuki suddenly popped up from behind him as she smiled at him.

‘What’s the problem, Odoroki-san?” said the younger girl.

“Ah! Naruhodou-san... Minuki-chan! N-nothing at all!” he said nervously as Naruhodou’s stare remained unwavering.

“I don’t believe you—you must’ve been hiding something.” said the man as he gave him a knowing look. “—Fess up, Odoroki-kun. Or do you want me to do it the hard way?”

Odoroki started to break a sweat as he looked around for escape. It was only that time that he noticed that the two of them were a bit different today.

“Err... eh! Minuki-chan! It was seldom to see you wearing something other that your magician costume. Going somewhere?” Odoroki exclaimed nervously as Minuki shrugged.

“We’re going to the funfair! Wanna join us? But Odoroki-san... you shouldn’t avert the topic just like that. You haven’t answered papa’s question!”

Odoroki grinned nervously at her. Busted.

Naruhodo just shrugged.

“Never mind that... Odoroki-kun didn’t need to say it aloud any way; I know what’s bothering him. I don’t even need to break any Psycho-locks to find out about it.” said the man coolly.

Odoroki blinked. “Y-you... knew, Naruhodou-san? Then why did you still asked me about it?”

Naruhodou just glanced sideways.

“It’s not like it really mattered after all—“

“Didn’t matter? You’re one of the best defense attorneys there is in this country! What do you mean it didn’t matter if you didn’t retake the Bar Exam to become a lawyer again?”

The man smirked.

“Finally, the words came out of your mouth. Was it that hard to say it out loud?”

Odoroki could barely keep himself from shaking too hard. But before he could say anything, a knock was heard on the door. Both of them turned as Minuki hurried to open the door. A smile immediately adorned the face of the former attorney as he greeted the visitor.

“Now, _this_ is indeed a pleasant surprise! Is there something special happening today? Or did an earthquake happen somewhere so now you’ve come to me; tails between your legs, to ask to be comforted?”

Adjusting the glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, the man leaning by the side of the door glared at him before walking into the office.

“Haha, very funny. Is this how you treat a friend who had helped you a lot in the past? That Jurist System of yours wouldn’t have materialized out of nothing if you alone had been working on it, you know?”

Naruhodou laughed aloud.

“My mistake. It’s just that I was a bit amused by this sudden visit. You, of all people would not come visiting my office for no reason... Mitsurugi.”

Odoroki stuttered.

“I wasn’t mistaken then! You—! You’re Mitsurugi Reiji! The legendary Demon Prosecutor!” exclaimed the lad as both men glanced towards him.

Naruhodou raised an eyebrow at Mitsurugi in amusement. “You hear that? You’re a legend too!”

Mitsurugi grinned. “Throw that sarcasm back at yourself, former _Legendary_ Ace Attorney! And yeah... you’re right; I did come here with a purpose.”

He cocked his head at him.

“Ah... as expected. I guess you also seek the same answers as Odoroki-kun here? And may I guess... you came here as a representative of a certain group of friends who were also concerned about my current predicament?”

Mitsurugi smiled.

“Your wild guesses are as accurate as always. I guess there are some aspects of yourself that had remained unchanged throughout the years. So, are you going to give an answer to that?”

Odoroki was at awe. This man had been able to say aloud the things that he had wanted to say these past three weeks and doing it so flawlessly the way that he could not imagine of doing. To top it off, he managed to counter Naruhodou-san’s retorts just as smoothly! It was just proof that he still had a lot to learn, he had only faced a number of opponents in court after all. There was Prosecutor Garyuu and that ‘Rookie Killer’ old prosecutor. And the only other attorneys that he knew were Naruhodou-san and Garyuu-san. He never got to know any other attorneys and prosecutors than these people yet. Perhaps, based on his level of experience currently... he probably could not win against Prosecutor Mitsurugi in court...

Naruhodou’s eyes twinkled as he turned towards Odoroki.

“Surprised? Well, don’t let that get to you. Mitsurugi’s an old friend; we went FAR back in the old days. Minuki, would you mind to serve some tea for our guest? I know we still have some at the back kitchen—“

Minuki cried her affirmative as she fled to prepare tea. Naruhodou smiled fondly as he eyed the fleeting shadow of his adopted daughter.

“So?”

Naruhodou turned to cast a sly glance at him.

“Shouldn’t you of all people know of my decision already? The situation that I’ve faced seven years ago was almost similar to yours in a sense. Just that, our positions were different and the results that happened afterwards were also different. Or, should I also leave a piece of note behind and _choose death_ as an answer _?”_

“You can’t be serious!” Odoroki gasped as both men cast a knowing glance towards each other. “Choosing death? What kind of decision was that—?“

“You really are bent on getting your answers, aren’t you... Odoroki-kun? Are you sure you’re up for it?” asked the older man as he turned to face him.

Odoroki swallowed. That one statement had no inch of any threatening words, yet the message underlining those words were as sharp. There was no turning back from this any more. He nodded.

“Yes, I won’t back off from this... Naruhodou-san. I’d like to hear the answers from your own mouth.”

A sigh.

“Very well...”


	2. The Fallen Dragon

_Oh dear. This had always been his main weakness. She just had to come in when that topic was touched._

Naruhodou Minuki placed the tray on top of the coffee table before turning towards him, shoving her puppy dog eyes at him.

“You’re not... serious, are you? Papa won’t... die and leave Minuki by myself, would you?”

Naruhodou sighed before softly patting on the head.

“N-no dear... I didn’t mean it like that—“, said Naruhodou before straightening himself up, having seen the snicker coming from Mitsurugi. He looked up to see Odoroki’s face, equally waiting on him for an answer.

_Wait a pain in the neck this is..._

He cleared his throat aloud before giving Minuki a reassuring smile.

“It’s not like that. Minuki... did you remember a story I told long ago about a certain friend of mine?”

Minuki’s eyes lighted up suddenly.

“Ah! Did you mean about that friend who always gets into trouble and you had to always pull him out of the pinch? Or the other friend who once had gone missing for a year before finally returning to give you a hand on a case time and time again?

Relief. _Perhaps it was not going to be hard to explain this..._

“Yes... I meant that _other_ friend. The second one you’ve mentioned...’

“Oh... the overdramatic one!”

“Hey!”

Naruhodou sneaked a glance towards Mitsurugi before smiling. “But it’s true, isn’t it? I mean... who else would write _‘Prosecutor Mitsurugi Reiji chooses death’_ just so to go into hiding? Overly dramatic person, I’d say! Normal people would take that note as a suicide note. Really annoying... that.” he said before turning towards Minuki. “So there you go... when I said about _choosing death_ , I meant in that way. Metaphorically, as Mitsurugi here had used in order to go into seclusion and find... whatever answer he wanted to find.”

Mitsurugi cast him a look of annoyance as Minuki heaved a sigh of relief.

“Oh! I’m glad... Minuki wouldn’t want to lose another papa—“, said Minuki softly as she leaned on his shoulder while sitting on the edge of the sofa.

Odoroki scratched his head in confusion as he exchanged glances towards the other occupants in the office.

“Huh? What? I don’t understand... what this got to do with your decision to retake the Bar Exam, Naruhodou-san?”

Naruhodou looked up towards him.

“My old case files... did you read ALL of them? Odoroki-kun?”

Odoroki scratched his head.

“Not quite. Why?”

Naruhodou sighed.

“Had you read the case that involved the Houdzuki sisters and a murder?”

Odoroki blinked.

“E-eh? There was? W-wait... I think I remembered Detective Houdzuki mentioning about it before. About having involved in an _incident..._ nine, ten years before—I guess I’ve forgotten about it. I did thought of wanting to check it out... but I guess I completely forgot about it, because of Takita Kitaki’s case that time. Is there any relation about it to what we're talking about though?”

Naruhodou smiled as he turned his attention elsewhere.

“Yeah. That case was indirectly related... but the one I was referring in this case was the old case that was brought back out in the open _because_ of the incident involving the Houdzuki sisters. That case... in a sense; had a certain relevance to the topic that we’re discussing. Since that case as well... had _falsified evidence_ used during the trials.”

“Eh?”

Mitsurugi nodded to himself.

“Oh yes, that case. The SL-9 case. That was one of my first big case that I have handled... yet the aftermath of that was nothing short of a discomfort.”

“I don’t understand.”

Naruhodou shrugged.

“Weren’t you paying any attention to what was just said? In that SL-9 case, falsified evidence was presented to convict the defendant to a crime. And Mitsurugi here was the prosecutor during the case trial who _presented_ that evidence. Now you see how that case was similar to what happened to me seven years ago?”

“Ah! But you don’t tell me—that evidence? The verdict? Then, did Prosecutor Mitsurugi—!“

“I did not forge any evidence!” Mitsurugi cut in as he took a sip from his cup of tea. “But that did not mean that I was free from the fault. I’ve still _presented_ that thing in court despite not knowing the truth. Even if the defendant was still guilty of other crime, it doesn’t make me feel any better at having _solved_ that case. And then after learning of the real truth about the case; two years later, it did make me question the purpose of me for being a prosecutor.”

“Enough to convince yourself that you needed to run away from everything, while initially making people think that you’ve committed suicide—“, said Naruhodou suddenly before turning his attention towards Odoroki. “—haven’t you also felt the same, Odoroki-kun? During your first case, that faked third Ace—weren’t you so furious about it that you landed a punch on my face out of anger? That kind of surprise and anger and I don’t know what other feelings that you’ve felt, having presented false evidence in court without knowing.”

“Yeah... but to the extent of wanting to die? I—“

“Odoroki-kun, there’s something that you need to pay attention to. One, unlike in your situation... when the situation involving the false evidence being presented to the court, _both of us—were already well known for our position as a **defense attorney** and a **prosecutor**. _ Two, both of us had prided ourselves for being able to do our job by interpreting and using the evidence to the best of our ability. We... had _placed faith_ in our justice system and our job to ensure that justice is served. When you were faced with a situation where seeking justice was less important that achieving victory by getting the verdict that you want; eventually you yourself would start to question your own beliefs about everything.”

“You mean... the case affected you more—how? What do you mean... _questioning your beliefs?_ ”

Naruhodou shrugged. “I meant the very purpose of you wanting to become a lawyer. Was it to seek out the truth... or was it for your own self-profit? When the very thing that you believed _betrayed yourself,_ could you still continue to hold on to it?”

“But then again, in Mitsurugi’s case... there was another factor that prompted him to take that drastic measure. We’ll leave it to just that. But back to the matters at hand, Odoroki-kun... during the trial three weeks ago, haven’t you uncovered an important fact on the case?”

Odoroki blinked in confusion. Naruhodou just sighed.

“You’ve managed to uncover Garyuu Kirihito’s ploy with regards to that falsified diary note. The old system needed decisive evidence in order to achieve a guilty or not guilty verdict. Because of that he had plotted to create a _forged_ piece of _evidence_ just so he could use it to attain the acquittal he needed, since the case had no decisive evidence at the beginning anyway. If Nanafushi-san had not refused him and picked me as his attorney, that plan of his would have succeeded and no one would know about it as long as nobody tried reinvestigating it. Or worse, Varan may end up taking the blame instead and the real truth of Arumajiki Tensai’s suicide will be buried forever.”

“Yet... that did not happen and that very forged evidence was used by Kirihito to bring damage to Nanafushi-san; and indirectly, towards me as well. Now tell me Odoroki-kun... if you’re in my position, how would your feelings be after learning about all of the truth? Remember what I’ve just said earlier.”

“But the truth had been brought to open already and you’ve been proven to be not guilty of that forgery! And the courts had been changed for the better with the implementation of the Jurist System. Everything had been change for the better... so I don’t understand why—“

“Must it be me? There should be many other good attorneys that can make up for the lack of my person in the courts. And we already have you. Isn’t that enough? You should be able to continue doing the things you do as an attorney _in my place_. You’ve proven yourself to be able to do so, even more than me. And the Jurist System is still in its infancy stage, there’s still a lot more to do in order to perfect the system. With my involvement as the head of the commitee, I’ll still be able to contribute my skill to the courts without having to be an attorney myself. Not enough for you?”

Odoroki shook his head vigorously.

“No, it’s not, Naruhodou-san—“

He sighed.

“Must I spell it out to you clearly? Yes... the truth had been unearthed and my name, as well as Arumajiki Zakku’s name had been cleared. The court system had been changed for the better out of my own effort. As much as I used to love my job as an attorney, that case... had left me with a deep wound in my heart. That wound would take time to heal.”

Their eyes met again as Odoroki held his breath, waiting for the answer to come out from his mouth.

“I’ve forgotten what it meant to truly believe in another person with my whole heart. Wait... that’s not correct—“, he mused again as he gathered his thoughts for a while, “—it’s more to the fact that, I’ve lost sight of what I should be fighting for. I know... and still remembered, what had it meant for me to be a defense attorney and reasons for me to fight to seek out the truth of the matter. Even if that was the only thing that I’m very much an expert on—being a good lawyer, in the end the whole ordeal had been tiring for me. Most of the cases I took in the past would involve homicide and most of the time, I’ve always received the short end of the bargain. I admit that it was just one case and it had taken seven long years of my time in order to seek my own justice. That took a whole lot of perseverance on my part; do you think that it’s high time for me to take things easy for a while?”

That statement left him speechless. Naruhodou had not added anything more but Odoroki could sense it. The deep sorrow that he had in his heart, Odoroki could see it through his eyes. Naruhodou-san had always been able to hide his true emotions from him all this time; but today... he could feel the full force of his emotions. This unspoken sadness, this deep burden that Naruhodou-san seemed to carry... he wonder if he could ever be able to describe such sadness in words?

“Ah! We took so long a delay. Isn’t it high time for our trip to the funfair?” said Naruhodou suddenly as he turned towards Minuki. Minuki, as if on cue immediately stopped feeling remorse and smiled as cheerfully as she could.

“Yes! We only dropped by here because Papa have left your cell phone, isn’t it?” cried the girl again as she jumped off to get to the work desk. “Here it is, Papa—!“ she chirped again as Naruhodou rose from the sofa.

“Good girl—“, he said as he patted Minuki’s head fondly. “I guess this is it. See ya tomorrow then, Odoroki-kun... and you too, Mitsurugi. Sorry if I’ve been such a bad host. It’s a weekend after all... and it’s been a while since I’ve spent time with Minuki here. So... Odoroki-kun, lock the office on your way out and remember to close that window tightly. Last two days, it had been drizzling and some of the papers on the desk had been soaked. Lucky it’s not anything important. So anyway... see you later.” said Naruhodou as he and Minuki walked out of the office.

Odoroki heaved a long sigh as he watch them leave. When Mitsurugi placed a hand on his shoulders, he almost jumped high like a coiled spring. The older man smiled at him.

“Don’t let that dampen you mood. Naruhodou never said that he did not want to become an attorney any more. He just said... _he needed a time off.”_

Mitsurugi flashed a knowing smile at him as Odoroki felt his heart becoming lighter...

xxx

Naruhodou perked up as he turned around to find Mitsurugi and Odoroki catching up to them.

“Hmm? Is there anything more you need of me?”

Mitsurugi smirked.

“Why... do you think after so long a time I’d just be contented for a short visit? Surely you wouldn’t mind hitching a ride with us; _it’s still a long walk to the place._ And it’s such a long time ago since I went to any funfairs, why not tagging along with you two?”

Naruhodou grinned.

“Are you sure? I don’t guarantee if there’s no random earthquake happening any time later... don’t come crying to me when it happens.” teased Naruhodou. Mitsurugi grinned.

“You as well. Don’t come running to me just because you couldn’t stand some increase in _elevation._ No use crying to me as well when that happens, I don’t want to have to a handle a panic-stricken you.”

Naruhodou laughed as the four of them hopped into Mitsurugi’s red sports car...


	3. Flashes of Karma

“Waii… it’s been a while!”

“Isn’t it…?” said the older man as they looked on to see the festivities around them.

Minuki smiled as she turned towards Odoroki.

“Have you gone to festivals like this as well in the past, Odoroki-san?”

Odoroki scratched his head.

“I guess… not. I’ve been studying a lot in the past and didn’t have any free time to go out. And the orphanage that I used to live in was quite far from any town…so I never got any chance to go.”

“Too bad…” said the girl as the older man looked at the boy curiously. _How was his life like… anyway, when Yuumi-san had to leave him behind? All of those years…_

“… it’s been a long time since I've been to places like this as well.”

Naruhodou Ryuuichi turned around towards Mitsurugi.

“You sure? How long was that?”

Mitsurugi grinned at him.

“Since that last festival the three of us had gone to when we used to be kids…”

Naruhodou looked at him in surprise.

“You lie! You don’t say… ever since you had lived with the Karuma’s, you hadn’t even gone to festivals like these any more?”

Mitsurugi shrugged.

“Nope. Did you seriously think Karuma Gou the kind of person who would actually take his children to places like this? Even when he only had his daughters with him… he never take them out on any trip or outings.”

“Then we seriously need to drag you out more like this… Mitsurugi-san! You can’t be allowed to miss out on these anymore!” said Minuki as she grabbed his hand along with Ryuuichi’s as they continued walking. Mitsurugi Reiji could not help but smile at the young girl.

Naruhodou mused a bit on the things that Mitsurugi had said before commenting.

“Really… huh? I wonder how she was now… Mei-san, I mean…”

“Who was this… Mei-san, Papa?” asked Minuki as Ryuuichi looked down towards her. He smiled.

“Karuma Mei… was the daughter of Karuma Gou, the man who adopted Mitsurugi after his father died. Her father, Karuma Gou… used to be a great prosecutor in his time. Like her father, Mei-san was also a prosecutor… a prodigy, as she used to call herself—since she had been a prosecutor at a very young age. Just like your friend, Kyouya-kun.”

Odoroki turned to look at him as he noticed Naruhodou’s gaze started to soften as he talked. As he heard how he had described Karuma Mei, slowly he started to understand why Naruhodou-san had commented like that when he said that ‘we tend to get a lot of that every year’ after saying that Kyouya was called a genius prosecutor. Come to think… it had been the same as well, isn’t it? For Mitsurugi-san…

“When I used to be an attorney, Mei-san… used to whip me a lot whenever she had a chance to. At first, she did that because she didn’t like me… but later it was like she would whip me a lot out of habit. Then again… Mei-san whips everyone as she pleased. But thinking back, it’s not like I hadn’t done anything wrong to deserve some.”

“Eeeh! Did it hurt a lot?” asked Minuki as he shrugged.

“I’d be lying if I say it didn’t. But regardless of her strange quirks, she was a good friend. She and Mitsurugi used to help me a lot in the past… especially on this one case that I had been involved. And despite our differences, I could see through her to say that she was a good girl. Kind of cute also at times,” said Naruhodou again with a smile.

Mitsurugi snorted at the last statement as he glanced at him in amusement.

“Fancy hearing that from your mouth about her, considering how she treated you in the past. I wonder what would be her reaction if she heard that herself.”

Naruhodou grinned to himself before noticing something. He turned around to see for sure but the apparition that he thought he saw was no more.

_Strange…I thought for a second there, I saw Karuma Mei passed by us._

But could it be a coincidence? Then again what he saw just now… was a bit different. He swore the last time he saw that girl; her hair was not that long. Perhaps because they were just mentioning her that he thought he saw her. Ah well…

“How interesting… I never knew that you are on good terms with many prosecutors, Naruhodou-san!”

Naruhodou turned towards the young attorney as he shrugged.

“Isn’t that… normal? Lawyers and prosecutors worked together in order to get to the truth. Would it not be a surprise to see them be in good terms with each other? Weren’t you and Kyouya-kun like that as well?”

Odoroki scratched his head in embarrassment.

“I guess so… but I saw a lot of them not getting along. Like that Prosecutor Aiuchi… I can’t see if I could get along with that old guy.”

Naruhodo laughed.

“Well… that old guy was different. I wonder if he still holds a grudge at me… if he even remembered about it.” Ryuuichi smiled in amusement as he recalled his first court case and the one earlier when he had been a defendant accused of committing murder.

Odoroki looked at him curious but before he could ask, Minuki started to pull Naruhodou-san away towards a shooting stand. Naruhodou glanced at her in amusement as he noticed the row of prize on the stand.

“What do you want then… Minuki? I’ll get it for—”

But before he could do anything, Mitsurugi grabbed the rifle from him and shot down a prize. Ryuuichi glanced at him in surprise as he gave the small Himesaman doll to Minuki.

“Do you like it? The other prize didn’t look so interesting anyway…”

Minuki smiled widely as she said her thanks loudly. Mitsurugi smiled smugly as Naruhodou looked at him suspiciously. _Hey... whose daughter are you trying to impress?_

“What? You think you could shoot better than me?” he jeered at him as Naruhodou bought some of the choco bananas on another stall and gave one to Minuki. Mitsurugi and Odoroki also bought some sweets from the other stands as they kept walking.

“I never imagined that you’d be so good with kids,” he commented as Mitsurugi looked away in embarrassment. Naruhodou smiled.

“—are you still watching the Tonosaman series, by the way? I used to wonder if you had also been a fan all these times...” he teased as Mitsurugi suddenly choked on his dango. Naruhodou grinned as his friend glared at him, red faced.

xxx

Odoroki watched silently over his seniors as Naruhodou and Mitsurugi seemed to enjoy the festival with Minuki dragging them around. Occasionally, he was dragged as well by the young magician—playing some of the games and took his chance to hear as Naruhodou-san and Mitsurugi-san started to talk again about the ‘old times’. It was by this time that he remembered about his true attention for joining them for the festival.

“Naruhodou-san… despite earlier when you said that you had some misgivings at returning to the law profession, I can’t help noticing that you seemed to like to talk about the past.”

Naruhodou leered at him for a second before looking away.

“And we’re back talking about work again. You seemed to like to do that. Did you teach him that… Mitsurugi?”

Mitsurugi shrugged innocently. Naruhodou sighed.

“I just liked to talk about it. It’s been a while since I’ve spent time chatting with Mitsurugi after all. And it’s not like he’s fond of talking about the times when we used to be kids…”

“But it still appear that you loved those memories that you had when you’ve been an attorney—” said Odoroki again as Naruhodou frowned at him.

“Hmm… it seemed that you are persistent at continuing our nice little talk back at the Agency. Well... here's your chance now, Odoroki-kun. I'll give it to you. Why is it that you’re so adamant of wanting me to becoming a lawyer again?”

Finally, the chance that he had been waiting for had arrived! Even Mitsurugi had appeared to be waiting for him to talk. Odoroki took a long breath as he spoke.

“Well…!”


	4. Turnabout Reunion

Odoroki bit his lips nervously as he drew a very long breath.

“I-I... WANNALEARNEVRYTHINGFROMYOUFROMATOZLIKEHOWYOUSEDTO—“

Naruhodou laughed as he immediately waved his arm around to stop him.

“Whoa... hold your horses there! Take a deep breath, Odoroki-kun. Don’t worry, I won’t run before you’re done talking.”

Odoroki could barely restrain himself from wanting to run away right at this moment. Certainly it should not be hard for him to say it aloud. B-but... the more he thought about it, the more the idea sounded stupid inside his head. _I mean... there were also a lot of other good lawyers in this country! There must be someone else that had more experience than Naruhodou-san in this field to whom I could learn from!_

For a second there, Odoroki wondered if this stubborn wish that he had was a bit too selfish on his part. He had already seen a glimpse of how this last case had truly affected Naruhodou-san personally inside. He wondered if he had the right to force Naruhodou-san to make a definite decision... now.

“I’m waiting here... do you need a longer time to formulate your thoughts aloud?”

Odoroki looked up. Mitsurugi-san looked as if he had expected him to turn tongue-tied at this moment. Perhaps, he had planned this out? But it had been a while since Naruhodou-san and Mitsurugi-san had met—or so they said, the two of them could not possibly have instigated this just to test him... right? And there was also Minuki-chan... argh! Is this some kind of a test? Or... if it was not, did Mitsurugi-san plan to use him in order to change Naruhodou-san’s mind? Why can’t Mitsurugi-san be doing all this talk instead of him?

The sounds of festival-goers around him, chattering and everything seemed to fill the void of silence between them. Oh wait... was that just now a sound of whip lashing and a cry for help just now? And what was that ruckus that he heard somewhere behind him about some Tonosamanjuu?

Odoroki shook his head. This was not the time to be thinking about other unrelated stuffs!

“I—Naruhodou-san, is it really okay for me to ask this from you? I know I had been rather persistent earlier... but now that I started thinking about it, I realised that it was rather presumptuous for me to demand such things from you. I—“

The voice that spoke up later, sounded gentler than he could have expected coming at him.

“About becoming a lawyer again? Hmm... to tell you the truth, it’s not that I really minded it. I actually did thought of returning into the field after I’ve finally resolved the case and cleared my name and such related stuffs. I just didn’t feel any urgency to do it so fast though. I mean... it’s not like I always get a lot of money coming in from this lawyer business, considering the crowd that I have and the circumstances that always made me end up spending more money than I could earn. So there goes the allure of actually wanting to get back to the business. But, I could always consider it... depending on what _you_ have to say. So... would you say it out loud?”

Odoroki frowned. He turned to look as Minuki flashed him an encouraging smile. He closed his eyes as he drew a long breath.

_Well, here goes nothing!_

“Naruhodou-san... actually, the reason for me to want you to become a lawyer again... well, it’s because—I still want to learn a lot from you. On how—to become a good defense attorney like you used to be. I mean... I used to have Garyuu-sensei as my mentor, but considering the things that had happened lately... I wondered if anything that he taught me in the past was correct... or not. And even though I have been handling several cases already, I still felt it wasn’t enough. Half the time, I had received help from either you yourself or Minuki-chan. I guess—what I meant to say is; I wanted you to become a lawyer again... because... I wanted to truly become your apprentice. I mean... not just learning from reading your old cases but also to actually _see_ you doing the job!”

There he said it. He really did it! And he were not being vague about it. He did say it in a very straight forward way!

Odoroki opened his eyes to look at Naruhodou-san as the older man flashed a gentle smile at him. _Well, at least he’s not angry..._

Naruhodou let out a soft sigh before turning towards Minuki.

“I guess having you tagging alongside him was not enough, is it?”

Minuki shrugged.

“Odoroki-san was quite hard to watch over, Papa. I guess having Minuki around is still not the same to him as having Papa around helping him.”

“Hmm... I guess so. A pity though, I thought by having you be by the kid’s side could make up for my presence. Considering you already knew most of my tricks... but I guess that wasn’t enough—“

“Odoroki-kun was not as daring as you, Papa. Last time Minuki had to coax him several times to get him to try butter up towards people in order to get information! It’s even harder to push him around to gather evidence...”

“Hmm... I had to agree on that." Said Mitsurugi. "Not many lawyers would go barging into crime scenes; where usually it was restricted to the likes of _them_ , the way Naruhodou often did. To find another as daring and shameless as him would be almost rare—“

“Hey... could you not put the word ‘shameless’ in there—?“

“Not to mention sneaky...”

“Hey, hey!”

“... annoying...”

“That’s a bit too much, Mitsurugi—!”

“COULD YOU PLEASE NOT ACT AS IF I’M NOT AROUND? I’m still standing here, you know?”

Naruhodou and Minuki turned to face him as Mitsurugi started to laugh by himself. Naruhodou cast an amused glance towards him.

“I see that you at least enjoyed this. Didn’t you also drop by my place to try talking me back into law? I didn’t see you do anything just yet.”

Mitsurugi shrugged.

“I noticed that it was much more convenient for me to let that boy try talking you out of it first. Face the fact; I’ve known you for a very long time. As much as I hated to admit it, your stubbornness and persistence on dealing with things can be hard to break, even for me. Granted... you might be even more stubborn than me. It’ll be hard to try to talk you out of anything if you’re like that.”

“And besides... I’ve been through almost about the same thing as what you’ve gone through, despite that we ended up with a different situation in the end. I guess... I can understand a bit.”

Naruhodou shrugged.

“True... I guess I could understand more of what happened ten years ago, when you disappeared. I guess aside from doing your soul-searching, you also wanted to be alone... isn’t it? Your pride was like that... after all.”

He sighed.

“Still... I’m not you. Mind telling me your own motives... my dear friend, Mitsurugi- _kenji_? I’m curious.”

Mitsurugi shrugged.

“I had nothing... much. I’m often working abroad anyway so things happening here shouldn’t bother me much. But it’d sure be nice if I could have my old partner back working with me on a case. It would make coming back to the country to handle cases be more bearable. And something more to look forward to—”

“Oh? I thought _someone_ had stated earlier that you found said person to be _shameless_ , _sneaky_ and _annoying_ —and I thought you already _had_ a sidekick to help you... uh, Mikamo... Mikumu... Ichijo... something—“

A glare darted towards him.

“It’s Ichijou Mikumo! Pronounce people’s names properly! But I didn’t mean someone like her... I meant _partner_ during the court sessions! Anyway, that’s beside the point. I just wanted to have back the defense attorney whom I used to work well with. It makes work seemed more... bearable. It sure beats having to handle some other rookie attorneys who more often than not tend to mess things up _worse_ than you.”

“Hey!”

“And Mei tends to grumble about it too... about not being able to fight with you in the courts any more. What was that—about a selfish fool who foolishly letting go of his foolish future just because of his foolish pride—well, something like that. _I remembered she kept repeating the word ‘fool’ one to many..._ ”

“Eh?”

Odoroki turned to look at Naruhodou-san’s face as the man appeared to be totally perplexed at this revelation.

“And also there’s Akane-san, badgering me about convincing you to get back to your attorney job—despite her only other motive of wanting you back aside from being able to work with you again; was to see Garyuu Kyouya get kicked out like a stray puppy in courts. And there were those Ayasato girls and even Ayame-san badgering me as well. Since they knew how you’ve been like, these seven years; and thought by having you get back to your old job, you’d be back to your cheerful life. And don’t get me started on the rest of the people on the list!”

A hearty laugh greeted him. For some reason, Odoroki felt a different feeling from it. He could not detect any bitterness from his laugh this time, unlike usual. Naruhodou-san did sound very amused. Honestly, Naruhodou-san had a lot of people still caring for his well-being. At least this time, seeing this before his eyes could he really associate this Naruhodou-san to those stories about his legendary court trials. Before this, he could never have believed that the Naruhodou-san before him matched the legendary Naruhodou Ryuuichi persona. _This_ Naruhodou Ryuuichi had been too bitter and spiteful, not to mention cunning. Totally did not match the stories that he heard all this time. But now, his hopes rose again. That old Naruhodou Ryuuichi still lived inside of him!

“I’ve got you into such a big trouble now, I guess? Am I that bothersome to you as well, Minuki?” asked Naruhodou as he looked down towards the young magician. Minuki shook her head as she wrapped her arm around his waist.

“No, Papa. Minuki still loves you no matter what!” said the young girl as Naruhodou smiled. And as if he had suddenly remembered from the back of his head, he turned around towards Odoroki.

“Well, you’ve convinced me. I give you that.”

Odoroki started to grin widely but Naruhodou-san was still talking—

“—though I won’t suddenly go up and retake the exam right away, but I’ll consider it. There are a lot of things needed to be sorted up before I make any drastic changes to my life now. I certainly hadn’t thought of taking you in as my apprentice for one thing. It never crossed my mind, really. I just wanted to get a lawyer that I could place my life on, that’s all.” he added as he placed a hand on Odoroki’s head, ruffling his hair as he did.

His eyes flitted away for a second as he seemed to recall something.

“But thinking back... you already had been learning bits from me already! Just maybe... indirectly, I guess. Somewhat. These past three cases you’ve handled while working under me, from what Minuki’s been reporting back to me told me much. For one thing, you’ve learned to gather evidence and do your own investigations before hand. You’ve learned how to get testimony from people... and even mastering using that Minuki ability of yours! Weighing that over your argument, it seemed a bit weak compared to Mitsurugi’s reasoning.”

Odoroki’s dumbfounded expression was too amusing to ignore as Mitsurugi laughed aloud.

“I think our young attorney was too shocked to reply. You’ve revealed all your cards too abruptly. I guess it was too much for him to handle all at once.”

Odoroki blinked.

“B-but, Naruhodou-san! You’ve said earlier—! You can’t possible take back all—“

“Well, that’s settled—Minuki.”

Minuki perked up.

“I don’t suppose you brought your Magical Bloomers along, coming here... do you?”

“Hmm? Should I?”

The man laughed.

“Well, if you haven’t... it’s alright. I just thought it would be amusing if you could pull out some of my old friends using that favourite trick of yours. Namely those people named Karuma Mei, Houdzuki Akane, Ayasato Mayoi and Ayasato Harumi, Ayame-chan, this one obnoxious trouble-maker, Itonoko-sa—“

“ _OBJECTION!!”_

The four of them turned towards the voice as Naruhodo Ryuuichi grinned. Just as the voice rang out, several people stumbled out from the nearby foliage as Karuma Mei stood up to free herself from the tangle of limbs; barely able to contain her temper at bay.

“I for one did not approve of being pulled out from some _magic panties_!”

“Me either!” cried Akane as she managed to shrug Mayoi and Harumi off her. The two girls pouted at him as another batch of people started to come out in the open and showed themselves. Ayame shrugged at him as Naruhodou returned the smile.

“You’ve caught us good thar! And here we thought we had you on,” slurred Itonoko-san as Mako gave him a salute.

“I couldn’t help noticing. And earlier, I did hear very familiar voices in a commotion behind us just a few minutes ago. It’s not that hard to guess.”

“Hey Naruhodou! Why are you ignoring me? And why I’m the only one not addressed by name—“

WHAAAP!!

A whip hit Yahari square on the face as Karuma Mei made her presence known.

“I said... what’s up with the magic panties!” she argued as Naruhodou started to laugh even harder. He chuckled as he brushed away the stray tear that suddenly materialized from the corner of his eyes.

“How heartwarming this is! If today had been my birthday or anything special I would have cried shamelessly over here. I hadn’t expected such a sudden reunion like this, it’s not good for my psyche—“, and he turned towards Mei to explain. “—the Magical Bloomers was one of Minuki’s favourite tricks. She was a gifted magician after all... performing at the local theatre every night.”

If that was meant to shut her mouth, it surely worked. Karuma Mei’s fury did appear to have calmed down.

Naruhodou sighed.

“Well... you guys heard me. So, it’s about time for you guys to stop worrying about me, as well? We’ll talk about me retaking the exam for later days. You guys have my word. I won’t go back on my word on this.”

As if on cue, the rest of the group cheered as Itonoko-san and Mako started throwing confetti around them, Yahari bringing out some crackers. Mayoi and Harumi started to dance before dragging Minuki and Ayame around joyfully. As if his words really did caused do much excitement amongst them.

Mitsurugi laughed as he walked to Karuma Mei to wrap his arm around her. The young prosecutor appeared to be feverishly trying not to suddenly break into tears as both Mitsurugi and Naruhodou tried to calm her down. Everyone seemed to be in a joyous mood. Not a hint of the serious atmosphere earlier remaining in the air. Odoroki Housuke watched everyone around him in wonder as he noticed how the dark aura around Naruhodou-san seemed to dissipate. The man had looked younger now, more befitting his _actual_ age. It seemed that whatever darker thoughts that still haunted him had disappeared.

“Hey!”

Naruhodou turned as Minuki sternly glared at him.

“So can we now properly enjoy the festival as we were supposed to?”

The man laughed.

“Sure! We had three times as much people now, so it should be three times the fun. Besides, it’s what people were supposed to do in festivals... having fun.”

Minuki clapped her hands aloud.

“So let’s all ride the Ferris Wheel!” exclaimed the girl as Mayoi and Harumi also squealed. The three of them started dragging everyone towards the direction of the giant Ferris wheel. Well, except a certain two people as Odoroki turned his glance towards them. Naruhodou-san and Mitsurugi-san had suddenly turned very pale.

“Uh, can we... possibly... escape this? Is that even possible? Mitsurugi!” cried one panic-stricken voice.

“Don’t ask me! It’s your _daughter,_ Naruhodou!” cried the other.

And one other prosecutor smiled mischievously as she hooked both her arms around both men to drag them along while Mitsurugi and Naruhodou screamed in protest over their impending doom...


End file.
